Posted by Rick Denney on February 16, 2004 at 10:30:29:
In Reply to: Re: Re: F Tubas posted by Mary Ann on February 16, 2004 at 09:29:51:
I'll stand next to you and collect those flames, too. I agree completely.
F tubas have a different sound than contrabass tubas. Yes, there are F tubas that sound and feel like contrabasses in the low register, but they don't sound like F tubas in the high register. Band music rarely goes high enough for the greater upper-range security of an F tuba to outweigh the sound difference in the low register.
I think one person in a four or five-person band section can use an F tuba and play the upper-divisi parts in some of the literature. That person will take the place of the Eb bass player of decades past. But I think it only takes one. Occasionally, I use an F tuba for orchestral transcriptions that would have originally been suited for F tuba, such as Brahms or Berlioz. Even then, one person provides the F tuba tonality while the rest of the section does the string-bass thing. There are a few tuba parts written for two tubas, and sometimes the upper part works on an F tuba. I have played F for the upper part of Lincolnshire Posy, for example, in a section of four players. But these are exceptions. Most of the time, band music is too low and F tubas can sound like barking dogs when played in a band style (i.e., the oompah for marches). Even with my new F, I have a hard time balancing a 50-piece community band in a section of two.
I played in an amateur orchestra when I first bought an F tuba, and I used it for works that typically require an F, and possibly a few other things besides. But I can't imagine trying to make an F work for something like Ride of the Valkyries, or the Shostakovich 5th, or the Prokofiev 5th.
But for ensemble work, I use an F routinely. This has ranged from 12-piece Civil War reenactment bands to brass quintet and tuba quartet.
Rick "who never anticipates being asked to do 'solo work'" Denney